Studying Wisconsin

With masterful storytelling, Bergland and Hayes demonstrate how Lapham blended his ravenous curiosity with an equable temperament and a passion for detail to create a legacy that is still relevant today. —John Gurda In this long overdue tribute to Wisconsin’s first scientist, authors Martha Bergland and Paul G. Hayes explore the remarkable life and achievements of Increase Lapham (1811–1875). Lapham’s ability to observe, understand, and meticulously catalog the natural world marked all of his work, from his days as a teenage surveyor on the Erie Canal to his last great contribution as state geologist. Self-taught, Lapham mastered botany, geology, archaeology, limnology, mineralogy, engineering, meteorology, and cartography. A prolific writer, his 1844 guide to the territory was the first book published in Wisconsin. Asked late in life which field of science was his specialty, he replied simply, “I am studying Wisconsin.” Lapham identified and preserved thousands of botanical specimens. He surveyed and mapped Wisconsin’s effigy mounds. He was a force behind the creation of the National Weather Service, lobbying for a storm warning system to protect Great Lakes sailors. Told in compelling detail through Lapham’s letters, journals, books, and articles, Studying Wisconsin chronicles the life and times of Wisconsin’s pioneer citizen-scientist.

In this long overdue tribute to Wisconsin's first scientist, authors Martha Bergland and Paul G. Hayes explore the remarkable life and achievements of Increase Lapham (1811-1875). Lapham's ability to observe, understand, and meticulously catalog the natural world marked all of his work, from his days as a teenage surveyor on the Erie Canal to his last great contribution as state geologist.

In 1988, a side-scan sonar reading of Rock Lake, Wisconsin's underwater structures was recorded by drivers, under the direction of University of Wisconsin Professor of Civil Engineering Dr. James Scherz. After viewing the image, the author worked with Sac and Fox Nation elders in Wisconsin and Stroud, Oklahoma, to obtain the translations of the Medewigan, or Medicine Lodge. Similar legends are described in Ashinaubig, Menominee, Ojibway, and Winnebago (Ho Chunk) traditions and in an 1890 Ojibway text. However, the oldest written record of the Sauk Tribe is found in an 1100 B.C. Chinese Imperial record that describes the Emperor's notation of similarity in the warriors' archery skills and red-plumed Mohawks, which recalled their own Red Phoenix creation legends.